An Independent Workshop on a Teacher’s Summer Timetable

Screencast Content

Eight screencast segments alternate between viewing brief animated slide presentations and engaging in activities that build toward a teacher’s
detailed proactive plan for
beginning the school year. Segments include the following:

To sample the screencast, please click here and request a free screencast segment.

Teacher Time Requirement

Total time required to complete all segments and activities varies from seven to nine hours. Why the two-hour difference?
Some teachers prefer to spend more time on various activities.

Teacher Benefits

The GOTAGS screencast offers four benefits to a teacher:

The screencast guides a teacher step by step through the pages and activities of the GOTAGS book.

Working with the screencast provides the experience of an actual workshop without the cost of a workshop.

A teacher can engage deeply with the program at an individualized pace and with a flexible viewing schedule that conforms to a teacher’s own time
schedule over the summer months.

A teacher has unlimited access to the screencast for two years for continued review and planning.

Screencast Access for Schools

A school or school system purchasing 20 or more GOTAGS books receives two years of free screencast access for each teacher receiving a book.

Screencast Benefits for Schools

The GOTAGS Screencast replicates a GOTAGS staff development workshop experience. The eight video segments lead teachers step by
step through the easily accessible GOTAGS text and guide them seamlessly through 20-plus classroom-focused activities. When finished, a teacher has in hand a
completely developed, proactive, personalized management plan for beginning the school year, ready to be implemented on the very first days of school.
(Note that this document can also serve as verification that the program was completed.)

Schools benefit by saving both money and time:

Schools save the cost of an on-site consultant’s fee.

Schools save the time of a school-calendar in-service day.

When all faculty work through the screencast, schools experience additional benefits:

All faculty members recognize elements involved in proactively beginning the school year.

Each teacher has a fully prepared lesson plan outline for doing just that.

All faculty have a common language for sharing class management ideas.

First-year teachers share a common language in the area of class management for discussing issues with veteran mentor teachers who completed the program.

All new hires are more likely to have a positive experience in the coming school year (and the following ones), resulting in their being more likely
to stay both in teaching and with their school system for longer.

How Screen Access for Schools Operates

A school administrator is designated as the screencast administrator, and can do the following:

add teacher accounts to allow access

delete teacher names to end access

designate an assistant administrator to control teacher access

The screencast can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection.

Each teacher with a book has two years of access to the screencast. The two-year access allows a teacher to revisit the screencast over winter break and review
GOTAGS to help the second semester get off to a good start, and to review again for the coming year.
(purchase books + screencast access for school/school system)

Professional Development Credit

A teacher completing the book-plus-screencast program as an “independent study” may be eligible for professional development credit.

Teachers in California

In California, you are eligible to apply for 3 hours of professional development credit through the University of the Pacific. Complete the
book-plus-screencast program, document how you applied GOTAGS in beginning the school year (view University documentation requirements), and submit your
documentation to Ready to Teach for assessment. UOP Standard professional development credit hour rates apply.

Teachers in the Other 49 States

If you are a teacher in another state, check with your school system to see if they will accept UOP professional development
credit hours. Complete the book-plus-screencast program, document how you applied GOTAGS in beginning the school year
(view University documentation requirements),
submit your documentation to Ready to Teach for assessment. UOP Standard professional development credit hour rates apply.

Teachers in Independent Schools -

If you are a teacher in an independent school, check with your administration to see if they will grant a number of professional development hours for
completing the program and applying GOTAGS principles as your begin the school year. (As a guideline, an independent school in Birmingham, AL, awards
12 hours of professional development credit.) You can document your completion of the program to your administration by providing a copy of the final
activity, which lays out your detailed plans for the first days of school.